Seeking to bring one person to faith - A Church growth model to be ...

Applauded?

                                          Sneered at? 

                                                                                Stunned by? 

                                                                                                                    Made your own?



Which response would you choose if I came to you and your church and told you that was what required in your church over the coming year was this; 'Just bring one person to faith'?

In conversation with a Methodist minister this week I was surprised by their claim that the 'man at the top' (their description) had called on each of the churches to bring one new person to faith over the next twelve months. Surprised because of the tone and the nuanced speech which accompanied the information.

As niggardly as this number might seem (just one person a year? Pah!) Revd Steve Wild, President of the Methodist Conference, made this call to this Church (as a member of, not the owner) with the desire for the church to 'take God seriously and put mission back onto the agenda and take God seriously'.

I was surprised at the almost sneeringly 'just one person a year' observation because when I pressed them it seemed that 'just one' would have been a major leap forward for the churches in their circuit as all they had to offer was many venues and declining members. So was the bump in the road that was troubling my companion caused by the paucity that 'one person' presented or by the mountain that they perceived it to be?

I am often troubled by the big mission campaigns with their big name speakers* because try as they might (and here we find a very variable feast) the transition between 'seeing that hand' and leading the person on the end of it though a meaningful 'sinner's prayer' and beyond is an immense journey requiring some sound administration and committed pastoral skills.


When Billy Graham came to London in 1989, apart from getting what I thought was a bogus call from his office because the church plant I was leading was the 1,000th church to sign up*, what amazed surprised me most was the way that people were processed after they had put their hand up, come to the front and prayed.

Their names and address were taken and, unless they had a church connection beforehand, they were pointed to their nearest church (from the list of those who had signed up and sent people to be part of the whole thing) and then prayed for and talked to and listened to (doesn't always happen) and off the went. The receiving church was then contacted and the details of the person was passed over for them to hook up and sickle.

Contrast this with my experiences where the people raised their hands, said THE prayer and were sent off - never to be seen again! This makes up the majority of my church mission experience and I saw hundreds apparently make a commitment never to return or become part of a church elsewhere. Talking to someone where I experienced this it appears that this continues as the practice to this day: The claim the scalp but never do the parenting and one day (make it soon Lord) the Boss will want a word in their ears over that I am sure.

Bring one person to faith and spend a year disciplining them and you have a convert. Steve Wild has pegged it just right I reckon. He does say that the Holy Spirit might just bring in more than one - always good to err on the cautious but give prior warning of revival just in case it frightens the faithful!

When I mentioned this to another minister (not Anglican) they muttered something about just seeing one person come to faith in their church would be akin to revival and started moaning about ageing congregations, poor attendance, lower giving and a host of other ills which were making church hard work. I was about to say that if we who were in leadership (in any form) made Church a bit more hard work then perhaps we'd be seeing less of the problems but, seeing they were already having a bad time, decided against it and instead lent them a book on renewing vision and an invitation to the Mission Shaped Introduction course which is being held here beginning Wednesday 23rd September (7:30pm) - All are, of course, welcome!

So let's pray for Steve Wild and his vision and for the churches he is working for, and trying to help 'get serious about God', and let's pray that they do.

And perhaps we could pray that for our own churches and the churches in our towns and even further? Couldn't do any harm, could it???

* Talking of the mega evangelists we have; am I the only one to notice how many use the same jokes, anecdotes and stuff that I was hearing thirty years ago. Where's the new material and the spontaneity, the fresh and contemporary 

Use Words

This Pentecost the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are calling on the Church to pray for those who have not yet encountered the love of God in Jesus Christ. They are calling on us to:

USE WORDS           (click on link)

It's a great initiative because so many people tell me how concerned they are about new people coming and yet they are rarely seen acting upon this concern. Some will tell me how they just can't share their faith and get all wound up with self-condemnation and guilt. The response to this is always that the most important thing is the desire to see people come to faith and see this combined with intelligent, persistent prayer.

So I can't tell you just how pleased and excited I am that the 'Use Words' initiative has hit my screen especially because (and I quote):


The word ‘evangelism’ means sharing good news.

For Christians, it means sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ – what he has done for us, and what he continues to do in our lives.

What does that mean in practice? 

It means introducing the people around us to Jesus. We do this by how we live our lives and how we relate to one another. But we can also do it by how we express our faith in conversation.

Jesus did all of this so well, and he invites us to share the gospel not just in actions but in words too.

The website (http://www.usewords.org/) has been created to help Christians find those words.  It’s being launched with a call to prayer for evangelism by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York – please find out more and think about joining us.

But this is not a one-off, or a campaign, or a PR stunt.

It’s about praying continually that more and more people will become followers of Jesus Christ – and asking God to work among us to bring about this transformation in other people’s lives. If you’ve never prayed for evangelism before, there are so many ways you can.

Whether you’re praying alone, with a small group of friends, or with your whole church, you’ll find prayers for asking God to bring the knowledge and reality of Jesus Christ to all kinds of people.

How amazingly cool is this?

According to many* around me, St Francis' of Assisi told us to go and evangelise - using words if necessary, and whilst I have tried to live by this principle words I am aware that many around me have taken them to be an excuse for silence rather than as a spur for less words and more action. Hopefully and actively engaged AND praying Church will come out of this exciting move from the blokes at the top of the tree.

Pax

* he never did by the way!

Foolish Virgins and Fresh Expressions

What a stunningly great day it has been here in paradise! Running from the early morning communion (which was pretty well attended) through the Family Service (where were they?) and then on through various encounters and activities into the first evening of the 'Mission-Shaped Introduction' and then more besides - one couldn't say the day was quiet, simple or effortless - but boy was it blessed (mostly!).

This morning was about foolish virgins and not being ready for the day that was to come (yet no one was going to know the day or the hour). Made me think how easy it is to put your hand up in a meeting, pray the sinner's prayer and think that you're now in. But there just seems to be a need to be ready and the unpreparedness of the virgins meant that they didn't make it into the wedding banquet. Reminiscent of the man who did and 'being incorrectly dressed' was thrown out of the window into the darkness with all that went with it!

It's obviously not enough to sit and assume we're in, we need to do something about this Christian lifestyle - is it give money, do stuff, hold services or something else? Well the Amos reading this morning left us in no doubt that God doesn't want services, load of them, but wants relationship and it is from this relationship that we live, do and have meaning in our life!

An easy rope to start considering the needs of those who are outside the Church and how Fresh Expressions (FE) might be just what they need. The problem is that I meet people who move a service to a different time (or venue) and call it an FE! So, if you're not sure, let me give you the definition:

"A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church."

Simple, isn't it? It's about providing a place for those who aren't Church to become it! It's not a relocation of venue or a changing of the service time - it's about making what we do accessible to those outside - and that's much, much, much more! (sorry Police Academy gene problems!)

So - as we go through this week why don't we look at the people we engage with and ask ourselves a few questions:

When would be a good time for them to engage with believers?

Where would be a good place to do this?

What should we be doing to make it relevant to the person, their culture, social needs and personal circumstances?

Three little questions that could just set someone's lamp alight :-)

Pax